Car body configurations

Theconfiguration of a car bodyis typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supportingpillars,designated from front to rear of the car as A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and D-pillar.

Typicalpillarconfigurations of a sedan/saloon (three box), station wagon/estate (two box), andhatchback(two box) from the same model range

Common car body configurations are one-box (e.g., a van/minivan/MPV), two-box (e.g., a hatchback/SUV) and three-box (e.g., a sedan/saloon) designs.

One-box design

A one-box design, theRenault Twingo(1998–2000)

A one-box design, also called amonospace,mono-boxormonovolumeconfiguration—approximates in shape a single volume comprising engine, cabin and cargo areas, in part by locating the base of a vehicle'sA-pillarsfurther forward.

One-box designs includelight commercial vehicles,minivans,MPVs andmini MPVs.Passenger cars with a one-box design include the 1984Renault Espace,1992Renault Twingo I,2008Tata Nano,2005Toyota Aygo/Citroën C1/Peugeot 107and 1997Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

Two-box design

Two-boxdesigns articulate a volume for engine and a volume that combines passenger and cargo volumes, e.g.,station wagon/estateor (three or five-door)hatchbackslike theSaab 900,and minivans like theChrysler Pacifica,2001Volkswagen Polo Mk4and 1999Skoda FabiaMk1.

Three-box design

A three-boxcoupé,theFiat 124

A three-boxhatchback,theEuropean Ford Escort

A three-boxsedan/saloon,theRenault Dauphine

Three-box design is a broad automotive styling term describing acoupé,sedan/saloon,notchbackorhatchbackwhere—when viewed in profile—principal volumes are articulated into three separate compartments or boxes: engine, passenger and cargo.

Three-box designs are highly variable.Hemmings Motor Newssaid:

These three boxes, compartmentalized as they are, are used to denote distinct areas of an automobile—specifically a sedan. The engine under the hood and surrounding compartment is the first box. The passenger seating area is another, or second box. The last or third box is the cargo or trunk area. There is no rule as to which box needs to be where.

Where theRenault Dauphineis a three-box that carries its engine in the rear and its cargo up front, the styling of theŠkoda Octaviaintegrates ahatchbackwith the articulation of a three-box. This style was later used by its largerŠkoda Superb,which marketed as the TwinDoor, within the liftgate operable as a trunk lid or as a full hatchback. As with the third generation EuropeanFord Escort(also a hatchback), the third box may be vestigial. And three-box styling does not need to be boxy:Car Design Newscalls the fluid and roundedFiat Lineaa three-box design—and most examples of the markedly bulbous styling of theponton genreare three-box designs.

In 2012,Hemmings Motor Newswrote "the three-box sedan design is seen as traditional or—worse—conventional." By 2016 In the United States, the three-box sedan began to wane in popularity.In 2018, the Wall Street Journal wrote: "from gangster getaway cars and the Batmobile to the humble family sedan, the basic three-box configuration of a passenger car—low engine compartment, higher cabin, low trunk in the rear—has endured for decades as the standard shape of the automobile. Until now."

Sales and popularity of four-door notchback sedans/saloons began declining in Europe since mid-1990s, especially affordable ones. This is resulted in moving production of Volkswagen Jetta in Mexico, as well as the Peugeot abandoning that segment since 2001 when the production ofPeugeot 306ended. Other, predominantly European manufacturers followed suit, with the most recent generation of Opel Astra may no longer to be offered as the four-door notchback. Since 2018, Ford reduced sales of four-doorFocusas well asMondeoto Eastern Balkans markets. Again, Volkswagen stopped sales ofJettain Europe around the same time due to too long dimensions, exceeding those with InternationalPassat B8.

Car roof classification

A related classification is based on the style of roof in the car design. The DrivAer aerodynamics model of the Technical University of Munichclassifies roof styles as (F)Fastback,(E)Estate Back,(N)Notchback/Sedan.

Motorsport applications

The bodies of stock cars can be modified for motorsport purposes while retaining their main characteristics. TheDrivAer high-performance (hp)configuration,a parametric academic model, provides an open-source wind tunnel dataset and serves as a benchmark, particularly valuable when combined with the original DrivAerFastback(F) variation variant for aerodynamic analysis. Aero kits applied are in line with those found in motorsport categories like European DTM and American NASCAR series.

See also

• Ponton styling
• Coke bottle styling
• Glossary of automotive design